


For you

by dahyunayeon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, squint for chaeyu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21751543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahyunayeon/pseuds/dahyunayeon
Summary: Mina's daughter only wants one thing for christmas, and Nayeon will do anything to make it happen.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Comments: 27
Kudos: 528





	For you

**Author's Note:**

> minayeon nation i hereby officially join you. i hope you like this heheh (also it's hyejoo as in loona's olivia)

To say things have been hard for Mina lately would be an understatement. The alarm clock next to her bed marks 6:28 A.M, two minutes before she’s supposed to be up, but Mina is already awake. She keeps her eyes closed and her mind she goes over the long list of things she has to do.

Wake Hyejoo up, make her breakfast, drop her out at kindergarten and head to work. Leave work, pick Hyejoo up, make her lunch. Take Hyejoo to Sana’s house, go back to work. Be home when Sana takes her back. Bath time, make her dinner, keep trying to teach her how to read, bed time. Repeat.

The alarm starts ringing and Mina turns it off. One heavy sigh, and she’s up to start the day.

Hyejoo sits happily on the kitchen counter, swinging her feet as she eats a bowl of cereal. She talks about school and how much she likes her teacher, because she’s nice and gives them all high fives before they enter the classroom.

Mina nods, not fully paying attention as she sips from a cup of black coffee. She doesn’t eat anything, because when she went to open the cupboards she only found the cereal Hyejoo is eating and an almost empty box of cookies; and they’re her daughter’s favorite. She can just grab something to eat at her job.

Ignoring her grumbling stomach, she wraps Hyejoo in a padded coat and they go to the bus stop near their house.

The mall gets the busiest during the holidays, Mina knows this, especially after working there for the past three years. But it doesn’t make it any less exhausting. 

Mina works in retail in one of the many shops of the mall; they sell candies and stuffed toys so the work always increases during December and doesn’t subside until Valentine’s day passes.

It’s a fairly easy job, save for the few rude customers she has to deal with, but it pays well and her lunch break is long enough for her to pick Hyejoo up. She always takes her home and fixes her a quick lunch, but seeing as their kitchen was empty that morning, Mina thinks she’ll have to ask Sana to do it. 

Sana is an angel in Mina’s life. Best friend since high school, she was there for Mina during her pregnancy and everything that came after. She gladly volunteered to babysit Hyejoo when Mina started working again, and the kid loves Sana so much sometimes Mina is afraid of her own daughter loving her friend more. 

The bell on the door chimes as more customers walk in, and Mina eyes them as they choose expensive mugs filled with sweets and a teddy bear bigger than her daughter. Mina doesn’t understand how someone can spend so much on something so… useless. But each sale helps her salary, so Mina doesn’t judge them for long.

Her days pass by just like that, it’s quite monotone but Mina is happy to at least have a job. 

Mina tugs at the scarf around her neck to cover her reddening nose and hugs herself, trying to warm up. She waits for Hyejoo outside of the kindergarten building with the other parents, but it had gotten even colder than in the morning and Mina hadn’t grabbed enough coats for herself.

The doors open and Hyejoo comes out skipping, holding hands with her teacher. She truly is very cute, Mina thinks. The young woman gives each kid a hug before they run towards their parents. Mina giggles when Hyejoo goes for an extra hugs and says  _ goodbye miss Dubu _ before going to Mina. Her mother waits for her with open arms and lifts the kid up as soon as she is within arms reach.

“How are you, honey?” Mina fixes the hat on Hyejoo’s head and kisses the tip of her nose.

“Great! Today was super fun, Miss Dubu told us a christmas story about magic reindeer.”

“Really? What is it about?”

Mina keeps Hyejoo in her arms while they walk to Sana’s house, listening to her retelling of the story and giving exaggerated reactions that make Hyejoo giggle. After she’d done with the story, Hyejoo grabs Mina’s face with her tiny hands and frowns.

“Why is it dark under your eyes, mommy?” Hyejoo asks innocently, poking at the bags under Mina’s eyes. She doesn’t quite know what to reply, it’s not like she can tell her four year old daughter she hasn’t been sleeping because she’s too worried about whether or not she can afford to keep paying certain bills.

“It’s because of the cold, it’ll go away once I come pick you up.” Mina lies as she’s used to doing every time Hyejoo asks her something she can’t answer truthfully. 

Once they reach Sana’s house, Hyejoo gets down from Mina’s arms and as soon as Sana opens the door Hyejoo runs to hug her leg.

“Auntie, you won’t believe what I learned ‘bout today!”

“I can’t wait to hear about it!” Sana pats her head and makes her give Mina a kiss before they go inside. Sana assures Mina that she can handle lunch, but that doesn’t stop making her feel like she’s asking too much of her friend.

Her way back to work feels glum without Hyejoo to make her forget about her troubles, at least for a bit. Mina sits in the food court by herself, playing games on her phone because she didn’t bring any lunch. She’s not getting paid until next week, so she will have to figure something out once she’s back home. When her stomach gets too loud, Mina palms her pocket, hoping to at least have enough for some chewing gum. She thinks she has a few coins, but before she can take them out someone else sits in front of her.

“Good day, Myoui. You look absolutely stunning today.”

Mina rolls her eyes playfully and smiles at the cocky girl.

“Good day, Im. I’ve been told, but thanks for letting me know.”

Nayeon laughs and reaches into her bag. She takes out tupperware and from inside of it, two sandwiches wrapped in plastic; then a small coca cola from the side of her bag. She hands one to Mina without saying a thing, and Mina’s eyes switch between the food and Nayeon.

“What?” Nayeon asks already unwrapping her sandwich. “You don’t like cheese?”

“Why are you giving me food?” Mina asks slowly, not wanting to come off as rude. Nayeon’s smile drops and she presses her lips together, looking at Mina with the faintest of blush on her cheeks.

“I’ve noticed you haven’t been bringing any lunch these past few days. Thought you’d appreciate my speciality, a cold chicken and cheese sandwich. No one makes them like me.” Nayeon says seriously but still trying to lift the mood, just like she always does.

Mina sighs and takes the food, grabbing Nayeon’s hand on top of the table and squeezing softly.

“I do appreciate it, so thank you.”

“How are you dealing with all the christmas shoppers?” Nayeon asks casually as she opens the bottle and passes it to Mina.

“Good, to be honest. Who knew mugs with corny phrases were such a popular gift.” Mina shrugs and keeps her eyes on the table, avoiding Nayeon’s eyes. Nayeon has always made her feel shy for some reason despite always being so friendly to her. Nayeon, on the other hand, can’t stop looking at Mina. Discreetly, of course.

“Not more popular than video games, though.”

“Hm, I bet. Do you still think selling video games is the best job in the world?”

“Not really, when I signed up I wasn’t told I would have to deal with bratty kids who think I can make out of stock games magically appear in the store. But it’s still better than working at ICY’s.” Nayeon scoffs at the memory of her old job, the ice cream parlor on the second floor of the mall who fired her for not being able to make a proper cone.

“They truly had no consideration.” Mina tries to act serious, but a smile breaks on her face when she remembers how outraged Nayeon had been that day. Had it been anyone else laughing, Nayeon would’ve said something, but she loves Mina’s smile too much to do so (besides, after a year of the events she doesn’t hold a grudge anymore. Or so she says.)

That night, Mina makes do with what she has left to feed Hyejoo something decent. The girl eats happy, filling her cheeks like a chipmunk and reminding Mina of Sana. However, Hyejoo is a smart girl, and she notices her mother’s plate is almost empty while hers is full.

“Mommy, aren’t you hungry?” Hyejoo extends her plate towards Mina but the woman quickly shakes her head.

“Don’t worry about me, love. I’m alright.”

Mina’s heart aches.

Once she gives Hyejoo a bath and tucks her in bed, only once she has checked every item on her list, does she allows herself to relax. Exhaustion wins her over and she doesn’t have time to worry as she usually does before falling asleep hugging a pillow. 

(She won’t remember in the morning, but she dreams of bunny teeth smiles and messy ice creams cones.)

As days gone by, Mina’s view of Nayeon starts changing. She always thought of the girl as a simple coworker, but now she realizes she really enjoys the time they spend together and hopes they can become closer. They start spending their lunch breaks together every day instead of once or twice a week. They chat, sometimes about work and sometimes about life in general, getting to know each other better. Mina shows Nayeon pictures of Hyejoo and the older girl melts, because apparently she loves babies and she assures Mina her daughter is the cutest one she’s ever seen. Nayeon rants about a new drama she started watching and Mina listens attentively, a smile adorning her face even if she has no idea what Nayeon is talking about.

It gets busier and busier they closer they get to christmas. But the holidays also mean going home, and for Sana that means going back to Japan for a few weeks. Mina hugs her tightly and tells her to take care, and when Hyejoo starts crying and saying she’s gonna miss her aunt, Sana almost, almost stays.

Having no babysitter, and with Hyejoo being on winter break, Mina has no choice but to take her to work with her. The kid is half asleep when they walk through the main door, but she immediately perks up when she notices the north pole decoration surrounding all of the bottom floor. They must have set it up after Mina left the day before, because she’s seeing it for the first time as well.

There’s fake snow surrounding a gingerbread-like house, huge candy cones acting as lampposts and Santa’s sleigh parked next to it. But the best part of it all is  _ Santa.  _ Mina never thought she’d see Im Nayeon wearing a baggy red suit and a fake white beard, but there she is, sitting on Santa’s chair with a kid on her lap. Mina has to stop in her tracks to gape at the woman, fully immersed in character, with little round glasses perched on her nose and all.

However, as much as Mina would love to keep staring at Nayeon looking quite foolish, she needs to clock in, so she promises Hyejoo they’ll go visit Santa on her lunch break. Luckily, Hyejoo entertains herself with one of the huge teddy bears as Mina works, and they have a fairly quiet morning despite Mina being distracted, trying to steal glances at Nayeon.

When they go visit “Santa”, she’s almost about to leave, but she sits back down once she notices Mina and Hyejoo. She tells her elves to go have their break and beckons the girls to come closer.

“Ho, ho, ho, hello kiddo!” Mina snorts when Nayeon laughs like that and uses a deep voice to speak. Nayeon gives her a look from above her glasses before going back into character and lifting Hyejoo to sit her on her lap (it takes a lot of self control to not gush about how cute she is, finally having met her in person). “What’s your name?”

“Myoui Hyejoo.” The girl replies shyly, moving to sit more comfortably on Nayeon’s leg. 

“Have you been good this year, Hyejoo?”

“Yes! I’ve done all my homework and I help mommy fold my clothes.” She says proudly, giving her mom a smile that lets her see her missing teeth.

“Is that so? Well, then I guess you deserve a present. What do you want to ask for this year?”

Mina gulps, because whatever Hyejoo asks for, she knows it won’t be easy to get. But the girls doesn’t say the name of some toy like Mina thought she would; instead, she taps her chin as she thinks and then whispers something into Nayeon’s ear, covering her mouth with her tiny hands. Nayeon’s goofy mood shifts, Mina can see it, but once Hyejoo is done making her request Nayeon goes back to her cheerful mode. 

“I’ll do everything I can to make your wish come true.” Nayeon pinky promises Hyejoo and sends her back to Mina. She means to ask what her daughter asked for, but Nayeon excuses herself saying  _ Santa needs to have his lunch. _

They don’t spend their break together as usual, probably since Nayeon is still wearing the costume, so Mina, making the most of her recent payment, buys lunch for her and her daughter, then goes back to work.

**_Mina ♥_ **

_ Why are you Santa today? _

**_Nayeon :)_ **

_ Original Santa bailed on us and my boss asked me to take over _

**_Mina ♥_ **

_ Oh, I didn’t know your store ran the mall’s north pole _

**_Nayeon :)_ **

_ Didn’t you see the video game christmas tree? _

**_Mina ♥_ **

_ No, I must have missed it _

**_Nayeon :)_ **

_ I must’ve distracted you, sorry _

_ Can’t believe I’m still charming even dressed as an old man _

**_Mina ♥_ **

_ Who said you’re charming? _

_ Anyway, what did Hyejoo ask for? _

**_Nayeon :)_ **

_ Santa never reveals his secrets _

  
  


Mina doesn’t get the day off for Christmas Eve. The store didn’t have that many employees so Mina was stuck with working her regular shift, but even more hectic than usual as people made their last minute shopping. Still, despite the steady flux of customers, Mina’s mind is somewhere else (as it’s been for the last few weeks). No matter how much she insisted, Nayeon refused to tell her what Hyejoo had asked for, and the girl wouldn’t give in either. 

In some way, Mina is slightly glad she doesn’t know. She had to spend the few bills she had saved up fixing their heating system; so her options for Hyejoo’s present were very limited, maybe she could get a teddy bear from the store with some employee discount. Hyejoo is right outside of the store, talking with the girls that had to dress up as Santa’s elves (Mina knows Tzuyu from the cosmetics store, and she’s not sure who the short girl holding her hand is but she doesn’t seem to be enjoying wearing the elf costume.)

Her heart always feels heavy when she thinks about how she can’t give her daughter everything she deserves. She wishes she could spoil her a little bit, be able to take her out for spontaneous lunches and buy her things because she likes them, not solely because she  _ needs  _ them. 

Hyejoo comes skipping into the store, swiftly getting up on the stool next to Mina’s. She finally gets a moment of peace free of clients, so she hoists Hyejoo up to sit her on her lap instead.

“Did you become friends with Santa’s elves?” 

“Yeah, did you see how pointy the tall one’s ears are! That’s so cool isn’t it? Elves are cool.” Hyejoo comments excited and Mina stifles a laugh because Tzuyu isn’t wearing any sort of elf ears, she simply tucked her hair behind her own. 

“Did you ask them for a gift too?”

“No,” Hyejoo looks up at her mom with a judgmental expression, as if Mina had said the sky is green. “You’re only supposed to tell Santa, not the elves. They’re just there as security.”

“Ah, you’re right, forgive me.” Mina rolls her eyes lovingly and puts Hyejoo down. They begin a game of “I spy”, pausing every time someone comes into the store.

Unlike her, Nayeon got the day off (it was all part of some elaborate plan she worked on all year long, strategically choosing her shifts so that she could have her day off for the holidays; she explained every detail to Mina over lunch the other day.)

Although she doesn’t  _ know it _ , Mina kinda misses Nayeon. She opened her texting app a couple of times, checking if Nayeon had been online and debating whether or not she should send something; because even if Mina thought of Nayeon as a friend more than a coworker, she didn’t know if the older girl returned the feeling.

The rest of her shift passes by slowly, the last few hours even more packed than the previous hours. Mina ends up exhausted, carrying a sleepy Hyejoo in her arms through the street. It’s starting to snow so Mina hurries her step and fixes the hat on her daughter’s head to cover her properly. She makes a quick stop at a convenience store to buy some food; and with the few extra coins she has she buys a chocolate for Hyejoo. The gift may have to wait a bit. 

_ At least the house is warm,  _ Mina thinks as she shimmies out of her shoes. Despite hardly being able to keep her eyes open, Hyejoo asks Mina to put on their matching pjs, the one Mina got for her birthday. So they both end up in the kitchen- Mina by the stove boiling water for some ramen and Hyejoo sitting on the counter, swinging her feet- dressed in matching penguin pjs.

The doorbell rings, startling Mina who had been lost in thought for the nth time that day. She tells Hyejoo to stay where she is as she goes check- she really has no idea who’s at her door on christmas eve, especially with all the snow that’s gathering outside.

Mina looks through the peehole and her brow furrows when she finds Nayeon dressed as Santa Claus standing in the hallway. She unlocks the door and her jaw drops, this is a much  _ slimmer  _ version of the costume, a red dress that hugs her body perfectly and thigh high stockings, along with a pair of black converse. Mina’s throat feels dry and her palms start to sweat. Nayeon just stays there, hands on her hips and a small, knowing smirk adorning her face.

“Merry christmas!” 

“What are you doing here?” Mina whisper-yells, unable to stop eyeing Nayeon up and down. This costume definitely fits better than the last one. 

Hyejoo comes running and jumps excitedly when she sees Nayeon, breaking Mina’s haze.

“Excuse me.” Nayeon doesn’t give her any answer as she disposes of her shoes and then grabs a big box Mina hadn’t noticed before. She walks inside, letting Hyejoo hug her leg. “Merry christmas kiddo!” Nayeon ruffles her hair and kneels down to give her a high five.

(Mina notices how while Nayeon looks like  _ that _ , there’s penguins with hats on her shirt and pants. It’s really hard not to blush, but Nayeon doesn’t seem to notice.)

“Are you Santa’s daughter?” Hyejoo’s eyes are wide and shining with excitement. Mina closes the door and sits down on the couch to watch the weird scene unfold in front of her. 

“Uh, yes! Yes, I am. He sends me to the houses of only the most special children and guess what? This year it’s only you!” Hyejoo claps and jumps in her place, then throws her arms around Nayeon’s neck. “He told me about your wish, and I came here to make sure it was delivered safely.”

Nayeon and Hyejoo share a knowing, mischievous smile. Hyejoo climbs the couch to sit with Mina and Nayeon opens her bag, kneeling in front of them.

“First off, Santa wanted to make sure you got this, Hye,” Nayeon takes out a pretty big box wrapped in shiny black paper and hands it to her. “I know you didn’t ask for it, but we thought you deserved it.” 

The kid eagerly tears apart the wrapping, and her mouth forms an O shape when she sees what’s inside- a pair of white shoes with colorful led lights on the side of the sole. Hyejoo starts squirming in her seat, clapping again and wiggling her feet. Mina grabs the sneakers and helps her put them on, but while Hyejoo is distracted playing with the lights Mina shoots Nayeon a look. They must’ve been  _ expensive _ , Mina can’t just let Nayeon spend that kind of money on her kid. Nayeon smiles at her with the slightest bit of guilt as she takes out another box. 

“And this is from me and the elves, because special kids get double stuff.” This time it’s a set of color pencils, which doesn’t seem as expensive but still, Nayeon shouldn’t have bothered. “But that’s not all! Don’t think I forgot about your wish.” This time, Nayeon turns to Mina, biting her lip in a shy smile. “Miss Myoui, do you think I can use your oven?”

Mina quirks an eyebrow but goes along with it. “What for, Miss Claus?”

“Well,” Nayeon takes out at least five different tuppers, all full with meat, rice, and different side dishes. “I’m afraid these have gotten a bit cold.”

Dinner is nice, Mina must admit. She keeps glaring at Nayeon, though, because she can’t get it through head why and how Nayeon went to such lengths for them.  _ For Hyejoo _ , Mina reminds herself, it probably has nothing to do with  _ her.  _ Nayeon, on the other hand, keeps winking at Mina every time she catches her glaring, which results in Mina trying to hide her blushing ears and cheeks behind her hair.

Once they’re done eating, they move to the couch again and Nayeon starts telling Hyejoo stories about the North Pole. Mina has to applaud her creativity because even she gets enthralled by the tales Nayeon makes up as she goes. 

Nayeon is so into talking about how she saved an elf from falling into a hot chocolate machine she doesn’t notice Hyejoo has fallen asleep with her head resting on her lap; sprawled over both women. 

“I should take her to bed…” Mina had been dozing off as well, so she rubs her eyes and stretches her back as she slips from under her daughter. She picks her up and takes her to her room, but even after she tucked her in and turned on the bedside light, Mina stays in the room for a moment. Now she has to go face Nayeon alone, in the privacy of her own living room, while the older girl looks like  _ that _ . Mina gulps, nervous, but she goes back feigning calm.

Mina finds Nayeon in the kitchen; and if a girl dressed as sexy Santa washing her dishes isn’t the weirdest thing Mina has ever seen, she doesn’t know what is.

“Please leave those, you’ve done plenty already,” Mina says softly, walking over to Nayeon and resting a hand on her back. “Thank you, so much. But-”

“Ah-ah, no buts. I was only doing my job.” 

Mina quirks an eyebrow, now mindlessly rubbing circles on Nayeon’s back, unaware of how fast it’s making her heart beat.

“Seriously Nayeon, I’m gonna kick you out if you don’t come with me to the living room.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Nayeon rinses her hands of the soap and follows Mina, drying her hands on her dress. 

They sit side by side but not close enough (according to Nayeon), so as smoothly as possible, she fakes a yawn and inches closer to Mina. The younger girl stares at Nayeon’s body again, she feels bad for staring but she’s come to accept that looking away will be impossible. She’s used to seeing Nayeon in her khaki pants and dark blue t-shirt, so this comes as quite a shock for her

“Weren’t you cold on your way here?” 

“Fashion comes first,” Nayeon waves her off, resting her arm on the backrest of the couch. They share a short but intimate moment looking into each other’s eyes, neither really knowing what else to say. Mina reaches into her pocket and takes out the bar of chocolate she’d bought for Hyejoo, guessing she could share it with her friend now that the kid had gotten other gifts. Mina rests her head on Nayeon’s shoulder while she opens the candy. They’ve never been this close, but it feels right anyway. Like they fit. 

“Here,” Mina hands Nayeon a big piece of chocolate, snuggling closer to her as she takes another piece for herself. “You didn’t have to do all of that, you know? But I’m gonna repay you so don’t worry.”

Nayeon clicks her tongue and moves her arm from the sofa to circling Mina’s shoulders.

“Please stop talking nonsense. It’s not a big deal.”

Mina sits up straight, folding her legs on the couch so she can look at Nayeon properly. Nayeon’s usual cheeky smile is nowhere to be seen, instead, she’s serious and pensive.

“Why?” 

“Why what?”

“Why did you do all of this?”

This time it’s Nayeon’s turn to stare at Mina. She looks at the way her ear sticks out of her brown hair, and how her cheek gets puffy when Mina practically pouts, and it’s the first time she can see Mina’s moles this up close, and-”

“For you,” Nayeon shrugs as if it didn’t matter, trying to brush of the importance in hopes she won’t have to further explain why she did it for Mina. “That’s all.”

Mina bites her lip, the air of the living room shifts and now it feels heavier. They both stare at each other unabashedly; Nayeon’s eyes are glued to Mina’s mouth because she’s still biting her lip and Mina’s eyes go all over Nayeon’s face because she’s never truly  _ seen  _ her until this moment and, with the way her heart races, she’s starting to understand some things.

Like why she always looked forward to their shared lunch breaks, and how she always stole glances to the video game store in hopes to see Nayeon, and how she used her free time to look up the shows and games Nayeon always talked about. 

“I should leave,” Nayeon blurts out of nowhere. She can feel her heartbeat reverberating on her chest and her cheeks getting warmer- and she doesn’t want to do something and fuck everything up. Before she can try to get up, Mina is surging forward and grabbing her hand.

“Don’t, please-” Mina sounds almost desperate and she quickly tries to recover and come up with a good excuse. “It’s snowing so much and you don’t even have a coat-”

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble…” Nayeon seems to consider Mina’s words, after all, it’s true that she shouldn’t be leaving like that.

“Please, it’s the least I can do.”

Nayeon nods, defeated.

“I’ll get you some clothes and, um, you can take the bed if you want, I’ll just take the couch.” Mina rambles. She stands up and fumbles with the hem of her shirt.

“Mina, I can tell you’re exhausted. You’ve had a long day, go rest, I’ll be perfectly fine here.”

_ She has a point, _ Mina thinks. Nayeon smiles because she knows she’s right, and with a roll of her eyes Mina goes to get her a change of clothes, a pillow and fuzzy blankets. As Nayeon goes to change in the bathroom, Mina arranges the couch for her, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. 

Her breath gets stuck in her throat when Nayeon comes out, looking dazzling in Mina’s old sweatpants and sailor moon shirt. There’s nothing special about Nayeon wearing her clothes (at least that’s what Mina tells herself), yet it still makes her feel warm.

They say their good nights and Mina waddles over to her room. She shuts the door and rests her back against it, closing her eyes and sighing deeply. 

Even when Mina is on her bed, comfortably settled under her blankets, she can’t sleep. She closes her eyes and tries really hard but her mind just can’t stop running. A million thoughts about how happy Hyejoo was, how happy  _ she  _ was enjoying the delicious food Nayeon had brought and how her daughter had taken such a quick liking to the older woman. Then her thoughts shift towards Nayeon and only Nayeon. How blinding her smile was, always full of confidence; how pretty she was when she tucked her hair behind her ears, how good she looked in that dress. How caring she was with her, and how there always seemed to be something special in her gaze when she looked at her. 

After tossing and turning for thirty minutes, Mina decides to be brave and take a chance. Maybe if she’s lucky, she’ll get a christmas miracle.

Nayeon is awake in the living room, she’s on her phone and she doesn’t even notice Mina at first, which is why she jumps scared when she finally does.

“Jesus, you’re quiet,” Nayeon whispers as she holds a hand to her chest. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” Mina sits on the edge of the couch. Nayeon moves back to make more space for her, but Mina doesn’t move. Not yet, at least.

“What’s wrong?” Nayeon’s eyebrows knit together cutely. She locks her phone and leaves it on the floor next to the couch, giving Mina her full attention.

“Can’t sleep,” Mina’s shoulders slump as she looks around, not really looking for anything but hoping she won’t have to  _ ask _ -

Nayeon opens her blankets, silently inviting Mina to lie down with her. Mina smiles, glad that Nayeon understood. She happily gets under the blankets, her back pressed against Nayeon’s front.

There, in the darkness of the room, both feel a little more daring that they would on any other moment. Nayeon’s arm circles Mina’s middle and Mina intertwines their fingers together, loving the way their hands fit. 

“You know,” Nayeon’s voice is a whisper against the back of her neck that makes her whole body shiver. “When Hyejoo visited me that day at the mall, I was expecting her to ask for some fancy toy or even a cellphone.” 

Nayeon laughs airily, not helping Mina as she tries to keep her cool. Her arm tightens around Mina and the youngest moves to be even closer to Nayeon.

“But she asked for something completely different. She asked me… Hyejoo asked me to make you happy.”

Mina’s heart aches and a lump forms on her throat.

“I didn’t really know how to go about that, but I hope I succeeded, at least a bit.”

Neither says anything else, and for a second Nayeon worries Mina might have fallen asleep. But then Mina lifts their joined hands to her mouth, and kisses the back of Nayeon’s hand. She murmurs  _ thank you  _ against the soft skin, her lips lingering there for a moment before pulling apart. 

If she says anything else, Mina might start crying. So she decided that everything that  _ needs  _ to be said can wait until tomorrow. All her worries about Hyejoo noticing Mina wasn’t well and putting her mom’s well-being before her own; the fact that Nayeon probably spent most of her day off cooking for them; how Nayeon makes Mina happy  _ every  _ day, it all can wait just a couple more hours.

Mina allows herself to enjoy the warmth of Nayeon’s body and how safe she feels in her embrace. Nayeon seems to understand because she kisses Mina’s shoulder and rubs her thumb over her hand until her breathing evens out and she’s sure she’s asleep.

“I’d do anything for you. Anything.” 

The words are muffled against Mina’s shoulder as Nayeon presses her lips against it. She holds her tighter and closes her eyes. Maybe one day she can tell her, face to face.

Nayeon falls asleep with the soft sound of Mina’s breathing filling the room.

_ They’re both softly shaken awake. Mina barely opens one eye and she sees Hyejoo standing in front of the couch, looking at them confused. _

_ “Mom, why are you sleeping with Santa’s daughter?” _

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! happy holidays :D


End file.
